solidThinking Inspire: Improve Your Design Process

solidThinking Inspire is a simple yet powerful software tool designed to help engineers and designers to create designs and analyze the structures to check if the design will support the desired loads. Inspire generates a new package space design using the structural loads as input. When using solidThinking Inspire, users can easily add forces, torque and g‑Loads for design optimization using the x, y and z axis. In addition, they can constrain axial and shear forces to optimize fasteners using the Property Editor optimization.

The more efficient and highly optimized product designs that solidThinking Inspire creates help to reduce costs, design time and product weight, especially for parts that will be created using additive manufacturing.

solidThinking Inspire helps organizations shorten the development process and save money on production costs.

Additive manufacturing is growing in importance in almost every manufacturing industry because it enables the use of lighter, more efficient parts that carry an equivalent load to traditionally designed parts. However, these designs require a different mindset and different techniques than traditional engineering. Inspire helps engineers and designers adapt to these innovative design principles. Here are some of the key features and benefits that solidThinking Inspire provides.

Key Features and Benefits

Motion Analysis

Users can investigate motion to predict loads on moving parts. Inspire helps optimize the design for efficiency while still meeting load specs.

Gauge Optimization

Users can optimize the thickness of parts using gauge optimization. By running gauge optimization concurrently with topography optimization, the design reaches optimal specifications for performance and material usage in a single pass.

Transient Load Extraction for Motion

The results of motion extraction analysis can automatically become inputs to motion simulation analysis and optimization.

Simplified Inputs

In addition to multiple automated extractions, solidThinking Inspire also makes it easier to provide inputs. For example, users can double click or hold down the control key to apply the same load data to multiple points or edges on a design.

Simplified Move Tools

Users can easily rotate or move holes or pockets and align to points, objects or edges.

Parent / Child Parts

Individual parts can be copied and linked so that whenever one is updated the other is automatically updated as well, reducing the cost of maintenance.

Shape Controls and Design Constraints

Users have the ability to control shapes easily by adding specific constraints to each design. Constraints and controls include:

Draw Direction

Symmetry

Pattern Repetition

Minimum or Maximum Size

Cyclic Repetition

Frequency, Stress or Displacement Constraints

Geometry Import and Export

Inspire works easily with existing CAD and other design tools.

Imports:

ACIS

CATIA (V4 & V5)

Creo

GES Inventor

JT

Parasolid

Pro/E

SolidWorks

STEP

STL

UG NX (Unigraphics)

Geometry Export:

IGES

Parasolid

STEP

STL

A variety of import and export file options allow designers to continue using the CAD software of their choice.

Customizable Materials Library

Inspire comes equipped with a comprehensive materials library, but custom or newly developed materials can be easily added.

Topography Optimization

Bolt Pretension

Bolt Pretension enables users to achieve more accurate results when bolts are under pretension.

Partitions

Users can specify areas of a structure as “design” and “non-design” by selecting an area to offset during the Inspire design process.

solidThinking Inspire is Easy to Use

Simple Workflow

Users start by entering a sketch or importing a CAD file, then defeature the design before assigning materials and loads and adding fasteners, joints and points of contact. Inspire then generates the ideal shape, which can be tested and verified before release to manufacturing.

Short Learning Curve

The user interface is simple enough that most users pick up Inspire with no training and become proficient very quickly. Even users who require training are usually capable of using Inspire skillfully within a few hours. As a result, the time to benefit for an investment in solidThinking Inspire is extremely short while the cost savings in improved design accrues quickly.

Easy to use workflows allow designers to start quickly optimization their designs without time consuming training course.

solidThinking Inspire Success Stories

Here are just a few customers who have used Inspire report impressive results.

Evenflo, a manufacturer of juvenile products, reports a 25 percent reduction in cost and weight with no safety compromises for parts.

Empire Cyclesachieved a seat post design that was 44 percent lighter than its previous design. The resulting bicycle was 33 percent lighter while exceeding standards after going through the Inspire design process.

Leiber Groupachieved a 50 percent weight reduction in its products while also reducing lead time and cost.

solidThinking Inspire Can Improve Your Designs

If all this sounds like it would benefit your organization, contact NxREV today. As the largest PTC partner on the West Coast, we have the experience and skill to help you maximize your design investment with solidThinking Inspire.

About NxRev - NxRev is an engineering enablement company that specializes in sales, support, and consulting services for high-level engineering design firms. As the largest PTC partner on the west coast, we sell the entire suite of PTC software, as well as complementary solutions including FloEFD.